A Song for You
Studio album by
The Temptations
ReleasedJanuary 16, 1975
Recorded1974
StudioMotown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
GenreSoul, funk
Length35:53
LabelGordy
G6 969 S1
ProducerBerry Gordy, Jeffrey Bowen, James Anthony Carmichael, Suzee Wendy Ikeda, Clayton Ivey, Terry Woodford
The Temptations chronology
1990
(1973)		 A Song for You
(1975)		 House Party
(1975)
Singles from A Song for You
  1. "Happy People"
    Released: 1974
  2. "Glasshouse"
    Released: 1974
  3. "Shakey Ground"
    Released: 1974

A Song for You is a 1975 album by The Temptations. It features two R&B #1 hits: "Happy People" (originally intended for recording by its authors, The Commodores), and "Shakey Ground", one of the group's final R&B #1 songs.

Music and lyrics

The album features then-lead singer Dennis Edwards on the title track written by Leon Russell. Also featured are Richard Street and Melvin Franklin on the track "Firefly".

A Song for You features a familiar device of the time used to exhibit the versatility of 1970s soul groups: one side features up-tempo cuts and the other side focuses on ballads. Several songs on side one such as "Glass House" and "Shakey Ground" featured P-Funk-backed dance grooves and even a writing credit for former Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, while side two had tracks such as "I'm a Bachelor" and "Memories", which showcased a more subdued style of soul.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC[2]

This album, while it was initially panned by the Rolling Stone Record Guide, proved its worth, going gold (selling over 500,000 copies) and winning the 1976 American Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album. This was also the final album by Eddie Kendricks's replacement Damon Harris, who was let go after this album. He would rejoin his Young Tempts (aka "The Young Vandals") bandmates as Impact.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Happy People"Dennis Edwards, Lionel Richie, Jeffrey Bowen, Donald Baldwin3:38
2."Glasshouse"Charlemagne, Dennis Edwards, Damon Harris, Richard Street, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin3:54
3."Shakey Ground"Dennis Edwards, Eddie Hazel, Alphonso Boyd, Jeffrey Bowen4:03
4."The Prophet"Melvin Franklin, Jeffrey Bowen, Kathy Wakefield, Larry Duncan4:28
5."Happy People" (Instrumental)Lionel Richie, Jeffrey Bowen, Donald Baldwin2:27
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
1."A Song for You"Dennis Edwards, Leon Russell4:40
2."Memories"Dennis Edwards, Donald Baldwin, Kathy Wakefield, Jeffrey Bowen6:01
3."I'm a Bachelor"Dennis Edwards, Otis Williams, Damon Harris, Richard Street, Melvin Franklin4:21
4."Firefly"Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Jesse Boyce4:02

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[3] 77
Canadian Albums (RPM)[4] 14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] 62
US Billboard 200[7] 13

See also

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, NSW. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ↑ "RPM: The Temptations (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  6. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  7. ↑ "The Temptations US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
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